Norman Augustine ’57 *59 to help NASA assess human spaceflight

Norman Augustine was chosen by President Barack Obama in May to head an independent panel that will assess NASA’s human spaceflight program and make recommendations on the program’s future in August.

The panel will look into a range of projects, including the International Space Station, NASA’s goal of a return mission to the moon by 2020, two new rocket systems, Ares I and Ares V, and the three remaining space shuttles which are scheduled for retirement in September 2010.

John Holdren, the president’s science adviser, said the panel will look at “the options that we have going forward to confront the mix of challenges and opportunities we face in that very important program.”

Augustine, who earned his B.S.E. in 1957 and his M.S.E. in 1959 from Princeton, has long been a leader in the aerospace industry. He served as undersecretary of the Army and as the head of aerospace industry giants Martin Marietta and Lockheed Martin.